Why BJP is more democratic than AAP

Secularism and democracy. These two are probably the most debated and discussed words in Indian politics in the recent past. The chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, claims that AAP is the most democratic party in India.

But is it really true? Has AAP really been democratic?

A few years ago, Kejriwal, riding on the India Against Corruption movement, launched the Aam Aadmi Party in 2012. He claimed that Swaraj was his ultimate goal and that his party believed in the principles of democracy. He accused the BJP and the Congress of being corrupt and practising dynastic politics.

Now BJP and Congress supporters claim that Kejriwal is the biggest hypocrite. Congress claims it is not a dynastical party and believes in inner party democracy more than any other. AAP and Congress supporters claim that the Modi-Shah duo runs the party and there is no space for dissent within the party.

However, it is clear that of the three, the BJP appears to be the most democratic party and is extremely accommodating about the views of its party members, which are drastically different from the party line. Here are three examples:

1. Shatrughan Sinha supporting Nitish Kumar: During the Bihar election campaign, a controversy erupted when BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha publicly praised Nitish Kumar and met him several times over the course of the campaign. Post Kumar's win, he said, "The issue of Bihari and Bahari has been settled for once and all", to which Modi supporters reacted angrily and trolled him.

2. Anurag Thakur supporting India-Pakistan cricket series: At a time when Pakistan is openly supporting terrorist attacks in India and has made no efforts to stop them, many Indian citizens want cricketing ties between the two nations to end. Anurag Thakur, a BJP MP and also the secretary of BCCI, said that the pulse of social media is not the pulse of the nation and India should play cricket with Pakistan. The BJP Twitterati trended #ShameOnAnuragThakur and vented their anger.

3. Yashwant Sinha criticising BJP: After the Bihar debacle, the margdarshak mandal of the BJP, which included senior leader Yashwant Sinha, shot off a public letter that criticised the party's Bihar strategy. Sinha has been vocal about his views for long. However, despite his attacks, his son Jayant Sinha is the minister of state for finance. None of the party leaders said anything to him.

These are just three instances. There are many others. However, the BJP did not take action against such instances. They allowed the party leaders to have their way. Till the time media houses stepped up the gas on prime time debates, BJP never released an official party statement condemning or dissociating from such statements.

For the Congress, it is crystal clear that nobody can override Sonia Gandhi and go against her view. However, there is one instance which gained some media attention. In response to the peace accord between the Centre and the terror group Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalang (IM), Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Nabam Tuki tweeted, "Welcomed the initiative of the Centre to bring a peaceful solution to the prolonged Naga political issue."

However, he deleted the tweet a day later, most likely in response to Sonia Gandhi slamming the accord.

Now let's come to AAP.

It stormed into power on the promise of Swaraj, but has clearly deviated from its principles, and its claim of being democratic now appears hollow. It has acted severely against every party MLA or leader who dared to speak against Kejriwal or go against the party line. Here are three examples:

1. Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan expelled: Earlier this year, founding members of the AAP, Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, were expelled from the party on account of indiscipline and anti-party activities. Yadav and Bhushan had protested against the dictatorial attitude of Kejriwal and complained that the party had lost inner democracy, going public with their unhappiness.

2. Two Punjab MPs suspended: Two of AAP's Punjab MPs, Dharamvira Gandhi and Harinder Singh Khalsa, were suspended for "anti-party activities". They were charged with "damaging the prospects" of AAP in Punjab. AAP's statement mentioned, "There are several instances that show that Mr Gandhi and Mr Khalsa are trying to establish a parallel organisation within the party with the sole objective of damaging the party in Punjab."

3. Law minister removed: In August, former Delhi law minister Kapil Mishra suggested that an FIR must be filed against former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit for her alleged role in scams. However, he was removed from the law minister's post within days of his statement.

Though the expulsion of Bhushan and Yadav caused severe embarrassment for the party, disheartening many followers, AAP continued to follow a dictatorial policy on coming down heavily on dissenting leaders.

BJP, on the other hand, despite significant embarrassment and loss caused by leaders' statements, didn't take any action against its leaders. This proves it is actually much more open to different viewpoints and opinions.